Airtable vs Microsoft: Founders, CEOs and History
Airtable was founded in 2012 by Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, Emmett Nicholas and is led by Howie Liu. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, Paul Allen and is led by Satya Nadella.
Company facts
Founders
Airtable
Howie Liu
Howie Liu co-founded Airtable in 2012 and served as CEO through its sale to Bending Spoons in 2026. The September 2026 closing announcement described him as an Airtable co-founder, not as its continuing CEO. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Andrew Ofstad
Andrew Ofstad co-founded Airtable in 2012. Recognizing that traditional spreadsheets were completely inadequate for managing complex relational data, he helped design Airtable's highly visual, user-friendly interface.
Emmett Nicholas
Emmett Nicholas co-founded Airtable alongside Howie Liu and Andrew Ofstad. He built the foundational architecture of the platform's real-time collaboration engine, allowing massive teams to simultaneously edit complex databases without data corruption or laten…
Microsoft
Bill Gates
Microsoft was founded in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, childhood friends from Seattle who had spent their teenage years finding ways to get free time on mainframe computers.
Paul Allen
Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft and was crucial to its earliest technical and strategic decisions. He helped develop Altair BASIC, gave the company its original name, and participated in the operating-system opportunity that led to MS-DOS.
CEOs and their tenures
Airtable
- Howie Liu2012–2026
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
As the founding CEO, he led the company's strategic pivot from a consumer productivity app into a massive B2B platform used by Fortune 500 companies to build custom software without coding.
Source
Microsoft
- Bill Gates1975–2000
Co-founder and CEO
Gates built Microsoft's licensing model: software sold to many hardware makers rather than tied to one.
Source - Steve Ballmer2000–2014
CEO
Ballmer grew revenue from about $23 billion in FY2000 to about $78 billion in FY2013 and built the enterprise server and sales business that Azure later scaled on.
Source - Satya Nadella2014–present
Chairman and CEO
Nadella made Azure and Microsoft 365 the company's core, opened Microsoft to Linux and open source, and positioned it early in generative AI through OpenAI.
Source
Timeline: Airtable and Microsoft side by side
1975Microsoft
Microsoft Founded
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft after recognizing that the Altair 8800 needed usable programming software. Their first product, Altair BASIC, turned a hobbyist computer kit into a programmable platform.
1981Microsoft
MS-DOS Ships With IBM PC
IBM introduced its personal computer with MS-DOS 1.0 and other Microsoft products. The milestone mattered because Microsoft's operating-system work moved from a small software supplier's project into the emerging corporate PC standard.
1985Microsoft
Windows Launch
The release of Windows 1.0 began Microsoft's long move from command-line operating systems to graphical personal computing. The first version was not an instant blockbuster, but it gave Microsoft a user-interface path that could evolve with PC hardware.
1986Microsoft
Microsoft IPO
Microsoft went public on the Nasdaq in March 1986.
1990Microsoft
Office Suite Release
The bundling of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into Microsoft Office created a productivity suite that became central to business work. The bundle simplified enterprise purchasing and made file compatibility a competitive weapon.
1995Microsoft
Windows 95 Released
Microsoft released Windows 95 in August 1995.
1998Microsoft
U.S. Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Microsoft of using Windows power to suppress browser competition. The case mattered because it placed Microsoft's platform tactics under public and legal scrutiny at the height of its PC strong position.
2010Microsoft
Azure Commercial Launch
Azure gave Microsoft a way to compete in cloud infrastructure as enterprise customers began shifting workloads away from company-owned servers.
2012Airtable
Company founded
Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, and Emmett Nicholas started Airtable.
2014Microsoft
Satya Nadella CEO
Satya Nadella became CEO and moved Microsoft away from a strategy that forced every product to serve Windows. He prioritized Azure, Microsoft 365, open source, Linux support, cross-platform software, and a more collaborative developer posture.
2015Airtable
Airtable product launched
Airtable launched its collaborative database product publicly.
2016Microsoft
LinkedIn Acquisition
Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash. The deal mattered because it added a professional identity network to a company already strong in Office, Dynamics, cloud services, recruiting tools, advertising, and enterprise sales.
2018Airtable
Series C establishes unicorn valuation
Airtable raised $100 million at a reported $1.1 billion valuation.
2018Microsoft
GitHub Acquisition
Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock, reversing years of developer skepticism toward the company. The acquisition placed Microsoft inside the daily workflow of software developers across languages, clouds, and operating systems.
2021Airtable
Series E funding
Airtable raised $270 million at a $5.77 billion post-money valuation.
2021Airtable
Bayes acquisition
Airtable acquired the Bayes team and assets for data visualization and reporting work.
2021Airtable
Interface Designer launch
Airtable introduced Interface Designer for building interactive front ends on Airtable workflows.
2021Airtable
Series F funding
Airtable raised $735 million, bringing total investment to $1.36 billion at an $11 billion pre-money valuation.
2022Airtable
Enterprise refocus and workforce reduction
Airtable shifted resources toward large enterprise customers and reduced its team by 254 employees.
2023Airtable
Second workforce reduction
Airtable reduced its team by 237 employees while continuing its enterprise focus.
2023Microsoft
AI Leadership
Microsoft's expanded OpenAI partnership and Copilot product rollout placed the company at the center of enterprise generative AI adoption.
2023Microsoft
Activision Blizzard Acquisition Closes
Microsoft completed the Activision Blizzard acquisition after intense regulatory review. The deal added Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Candy Crush, and other franchises to Microsoft Gaming.
2024Airtable
Cobuilder launch
Airtable launched Cobuilder, which generates customizable no-code applications from natural-language descriptions.
2024Airtable
Dopt acquisition
Airtable acquired AI-powered onboarding platform Dopt and moved its team into Airtable's AI organization.
2025Airtable
DeepSky acquisition and CTO appointment
Airtable acquired AI research product DeepSky and appointed former OpenAI leader David Azose as chief technology officer.
2026Airtable
Bending Spoons acquisition announced
Bending Spoons agreed to acquire Airtable for $1.285 billion in enterprise value and disclosed approximately $480 million in ARR as of June 2026.
2026Airtable
Bending Spoons acquisition completed
Bending Spoons acquired 100% of Airtable's outstanding shares on September 4, 2026.
Acquisitions
Airtable
- DeepSky2025Undisclosed
- Dopt2024Undisclosed
- Bayes team and assets2021Undisclosed
Microsoft
- Activision Blizzard2023$68.7B
- Nuance Communications2022$19.7B
- ZeniMax Media2021$7.5B
- TakeLessons2021Undisclosed
- Clipchamp2021Undisclosed
- GitHub2018$7.5B
Questions about Airtable vs Microsoft
Who is the CEO of Airtable and Microsoft Corporation?
Airtable is led by Howie Liu and Microsoft Corporation is led by Satya Nadella. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Airtable founded vs Microsoft Corporation?
Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 — 37 years before Airtable, which was founded in 2012. Microsoft Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Airtable.
How many employees does Airtable have compared to Microsoft Corporation?
Airtable employs approximately 700 people, while Microsoft Corporation employs approximately 223,000. Microsoft Corporation has the larger workforce at 223,000 employees, compared to Airtable's 700. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Airtable and Microsoft Corporation headquartered?
Both Airtable and Microsoft Corporation are headquartered in United States. Their local rules and tax obligations may still differ.
Who founded Airtable and Microsoft Corporation?
Airtable was founded by Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, Emmett Nicholas. Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates, Paul Allen.
Which company has a longer operating history — Airtable or Microsoft Corporation?
Microsoft Corporation has been operating for approximately 51 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Airtable has been in operation for around 14 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Airtable vs Microsoft overview